Smoking article assembly machine and method of making a smoking article

ABSTRACT

The present application relates to a smoking article assembly machine. The smoking article assembly machine has a web of tipping paper conveying path. The smoking article assembly machine also has a mechanical cutter ( 70 ) configured to perform a cutting action to form a pattern ( 5 ) including a line ( 6 ) having a dimension of at least 5 mm on a web ( 11 ) of tipping paper ( 4 ) passing along the web of tipping paper conveying path, and a web severing device ( 60 ) configured to sever the web ( 11 ) of tipping paper ( 4 ) into segments for wrapping smoking articles. The present application also relates to a method of making a smoking article.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This present invention relates to a smoking article assembly machine. The present invention also relates to a method of making a smoking article.

BACKGROUND

Smoking articles, such as filter cigarettes, are generally formed of a tobacco rod and a filter wrapped in a material, such as paper. A band of paper, such as tipping paper, may be used to join together a wrapped tobacco rod and a wrapped filter. Cigarettes with different construction and configuration are possible but do generally comprise rod shaped components, such as tobacco rods and filters that are wrapped in materials in various arrangements.

Machinery for preparing and wrapping a web of material around a tobacco rod, a filter or an assembly of a tobacco rod and a filter may include a web handling system that handles thin strips of material, such as tipping paper, arranges and aligns the strips of material with the relevant components and feeds the strips into a wrapping process to wrap the strips of material around the components of the smoking article.

It is known to assemble smoking articles with a web of a sheet material, such as tipping paper, with predefined slits or apertures formed in it.

SUMMARY

According to aspects of the invention, there is provided a smoking article assembly machine having a web of tipping paper conveying path, the smoking article assembly machine comprising a mechanical cutter configured to perform a cutting action to form a pattern including a line having a dimension of at least 5 mm on a web of tipping paper passing along the web of tipping paper conveying path, and a web severing device configured to sever the web of tipping paper into segments for wrapping smoking articles.

The line may be a line of separation.

The cutting action of the mechanical cutter may be configured to define at least two sections of the web of tipping paper.

The mechanical cutter may be configured to perform a cutting action to form the pattern including a line in a direction along the direction of the web of tipping paper conveying path.

The smoking article assembly machine may further comprise a curling station configured to act on the web of tipping paper. The mechanical cutter may be configured to perform the cutting action downstream of the curling station along the web of tipping paper conveying path.

The mechanical cutter may be configured to perform the cutting action upstream of the web severing device along the web of tipping paper conveying path.

The mechanical cutter may be a crush cutting device. Alternatively, it may be another type of mechanical cutter such as a shear action cutter, e.g. a rotary scissor type cutter, or a contact cutter.

The crush cutting device may comprise a profiled roller and an anvil roller between which the web of tipping paper conveying path is defined.

The spacing between the profile roller and anvil roller may be in a range of between 3 to 5 μm.

The smoking article assembly machine may further comprise a pre-cutter. The pre-cutter may be configured to perform a first cutting action on said web of tipping paper and the cutting action performed by the mechanical cutter may be a second cutting action on said web of tipping paper.

The pre-cutter may perform a mechanical cutting action.

The pre-cutter may be disposed downstream of the curling station and upstream of the mechanical cutter along the web of tipping paper conveying path. More specifically, the pre-cutter is preferably disposed after the curling station but before the mechanical cutter in the direction of movement of the web of tipping paper along the conveying path.

The pre-cutter may be disposed upstream of the curling station along the web of tipping paper conveying path.

The pre-cutter may be a punch for forming perforations. Alternatively, the pre-cutter could be a shear action cutter, such as a rotary scissor type cutter, a contact cutter or a laser cutter.

The line may have a minimum length to width ration of 60:1.

According to other aspects of the invention, there is provided a method of making a smoking article, comprising conveying a web of tipping paper along a conveying path, mechanically cutting the web of tipping paper to form a pattern including a line having a dimension of at least 5 mm on the web of tipping paper, severing the web of tipping paper into segments, and assembling smoking article with the segments of tipping paper.

The method may further comprise curling the web of tipping paper using a curling station, wherein the web of tipping paper may be mechanically cut to form a pattern including a line having a dimension of at least 5 mm after the web of cutting paper is curled by the curling station.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a partial exploded view of a cigarette;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a segment of tipping paper for forming a cigarette;

FIG. 3 is a schematic side elevational view of a cigarette making machine;

FIG. 4 is a schematic side view of a crush cutting device of the cigarette making machine;

FIG. 5 is a schematic illustration of process steps performed by the cigarette making machine shown in FIG. 3; and

FIG. 6 is a schematic side elevational view of another cigarette making machine.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As used herein, the term “smoking article” includes smokeable products such as cigarettes, cigars and cigarillos whether based on tobacco, tobacco derivatives, expanded tobacco, reconstituted tobacco or tobacco substitutes and also heat-not-burn products and other nicotine delivery product such as aerosol generation devices including e-cigarettes. The smoking article may be provided with a filter for the gaseous flow drawn by the smoker. Examples of smoking articles as described herein may comprise a cigarette with a filter in a fixed location on a rod of smokeable material such as tobacco whereas others may be telescopic in configuration.

Referring to FIG. 1, a smoking article in the form of a cigarette 1 comprises a tobacco rod 2, which in a conventional manner comprises smokable material, such as tobacco or tobacco containing material, wrapped in a paper wrapper. It will be understood that the term cigarette may be replaced by the term smoking article throughout. A generally cylindrical filter segment 3 that comprises filter material, for example cellulose acetate wrapped in a paper plug wrap is disposed adjacent to the tobacco rod 2. The filter segment 3 is attached to the tobacco rod 2 by means of a covering layer of sheet material 4, preferably tipping paper. Alternatively, the tobacco rod 2 may comprise a smokable material and a second filter section (not shown) which are longitudinally aligned.

The tipping paper 4 in FIG. 2 is shown as a segment to of a web of tipping paper 11 which is of a width suitable for wrapping two cigarettes 1 back-to-back in a cigarette making machine as will be explained hereinafter. Each length L of the web 11 is utilised to form an individual back-to-back cigarette pair and in use, the web 11 is cut along severing lines 12, 13 forming leading and trailing edges of each segment 10. Upon wrapping of the tipping paper 4 to form the smoking articles 1, the segment to of the web of tipping paper 11 is divided along separation line 14.

As shown in FIG. 2, the tipping paper 4 is formed with a pattern 5. The pattern 5 is formed by an array of lines 6. The lines 6 are formed by cutting into the sheet material that forms the tipping paper 4. The segment to of the web 11 of tipping paper 4 shown in FIG. 2 forms a blank. In the present embodiment, the lines 6 are formed by a mechanical cutting action. The depth of at least some of the lines 6 extends through the thickness of the sheet material. That is, the line 6 forms a line of separation. However, some of the lines 6 may extend only partially through the thickness of the sheet material. The or each line 4 forming a line of separation defines at least two sections of the tipping paper 4. For example, line 4 a defines two sections 8 a, 8 b of the tipping paper 4 in FIG. 2.

Although an array of lines 6 are shown forming the pattern 5, it should be understood that the pattern 5 could be made by one line 6. Each line 6 is elongate. At least one line 6 has a length equal to or greater than 5 mm. Preferably, at least one line 6 has a length equal to or greater than 10 mm. When assembled at least one line 6 extends at least 50% around the circumference of the cigarette 1. Preferably, when assembled at least one line 6 extends at least 80% around the circumference of the cigarette 1.

The tipping paper 4 is also formed with an array of perforations 7. The perforations 7 may be formed by laser cutting, embossing such as pin embossing or any other suitable method. The perforations 7 provide for ventilation through the tipping paper 4. It will be understood that each perforation 7 typically has a diameter of up to 0.5 mm. It has been found that perforation holes having a greater diameter than 0.5 mm may cause the production of CO₂.

A cigarette making machine suitable for producing cigarettes 1 will now be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. The machine can be considered as a modification of a machine by Hauni Maschinenbau AG, which has been adapted to utilise a roll 22 a of the web 11 of tipping paper 4 in the manufacture of cigarettes. Reference is also made to FIG. 5, which illustrates schematically the process steps performed by various parts of the machine illustrated in FIG. 3.

Tobacco rods 20 of a length suitable for forming two cigarettes back-to-back are supplied to a tobacco rod in-feed 33 shown in FIG. 3. Also, filter rods 21 are supplied from a hopper 35 into the machine. The filter rods 21 are of a length suitable for forming two cigarettes back-to-back.

The tobacco rods 20 are supplied onto a take over drum 36 and passed to a tobacco rod cutting drum 37 with an associated knife wheel 38 that cuts the tobacco rods 20 into two parts 20 a, 20 b which are then axially separated by means of a separating drum 39 and passed to a filter feed drum 40 where an individual filter rod 21 is placed between them as shown in FIG. 5.

The filter rods 21 are fed from hopper 35 by means of supply rollers 32 a, 32 b, 32 c, 32 d to the filter feed drum 40 and as shown in FIG. 3, the filter feed drum 40 acts to abut the tobacco rods 20 a, 20 b against opposite ends of the filter rods 21 on a common longitudinally axis.

The abutting arrangement of rods 20 a, 21, 20 b is then transferred to a swash-plate drum 41 where they are joined together by means of a tipping paper segment 10 that comprises a cut portion of the web 11 of tipping paper 4 shown in FIG. 2, e.g. between severing lines 12 and 13. As will be explained later, the tipping paper segment to is cut from the web 11 and is coated with glue so that when the arrangement is transferred to rolling drum 43, the tipping paper segment to is wrapped around the filter rod 21 and is dimensioned to overlap the ends of the tobacco rods 20 a, 20 b so that they become joined together as illustrated by the arrangement in FIG. 5.

The joined rods 20 a, 21, 20 b then pass on to a transfer drum 45 so as to be fed to a cutting drum 46 with an associated rotary knife 47 which cuts the joined rods 20 a, 21, 20 b into two separate cigarettes 1, 1′ which are then fed via a transfer drum 48 to a turning drum 49 where the cigarettes 1, 1′ of each pair are arranged to face in the same direction ready for packaging.

The web 11 of tipping paper 4 is fed sequentially from a feed arrangement comprising two rolls 22 a, 22 b so that a continuous supply of the web 11 of tipping paper 4 can be provided to a cigarette making machine. Thus, when one of the supply rolls 22 a becomes exhausted, supply can continue from the other roll 22 b and the empty roll can be replaced.

Prior to placement of the supply rolls 22 a, 22 b on the cigarette making machine, plain web rolls are acted on by a perforation station (not shown) to form the perforations 7 in the web 11 of tipping paper 4. The perforation station (not shown) is typically remote from the cigarette making machine, or may be included in the cigarette making machine. Also the web 11 may be perforated at a perforation station adjacent the cigarette making machine and supplied from the adjacent station into the cigarette making machine.

Referring again to FIG. 3, the web 11 of tipping paper 4 is fed from one of the rolls 22 a, 22 b to a curling station 50. The curling station 50 operates on the web 11 of tipping paper 4 in order to weaken its structural integrity on one side to enable it to curl into a cylinder readily when wrapped around the rods 20 a, 20 b, 21 on the drums 41, 43 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5. In the curling station 50, the tipping paper 4 is passed over a fixed curling edge, also known as a curling bar, to weaken the structural integrity of the tipping paper slightly on one face. In conventional cigarette making machines the web 11 with perforations is able to withstand the curling treatment. However, it has been found that the presence of a pattern 5 including a line 6 having a dimension of at least 5 mm on the web 11 of tipping paper 4 passing through the curling station 50 may cause the web to be at least partially damaged.

As shown in FIG. 3, the web 11 of tipping paper 4 is acted on by a mechanical cutter 70, downstream of the curling station 50. The mechanical cutter 70 acts on the web 11 of tipping paper 4 to form at least one line 6 of the pattern 5. The mechanical cutter 70 performs a cutting action on the web 11 of tipping paper 4 as it passes through the mechanical cutter 70, along the web 11 of tipping paper 4 conveying path. The mechanical cutter 70 makes cuts in the web 11 of tipping paper 4 that are predominantly in the machine direction, i.e. in the direction in which the tipping paper 4 is being conveyed, rather than in the cross-wise direction perpendicular to the direction of travel of the tipping paper 4.

A web tensioner 65 is provided upstream of the curling station 50 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3. The web tensioner 65 or web reservoir provides for accurate control of the tension of the web 11 of tipping paper 4 at the mechanical cutter 70. In an alternative embodiment, the web tensioner 65 is disposed between the curling station 50 and the mechanical cutter 70. A paper guide (not shown) aligns the web 11 of tipping paper 4 in a direction transverse to the direction of the web 11 of tipping paper conveying path 4. The paper guide ensures that the web 11 of tipping paper 4 is accurately aligned prior to being received by the mechanical cutter 70.

Referring to FIG. 4, the mechanical cutter 70 in the present embodiment is a crush cutting device. The crush cutting device acts on the web 11 of tipping paper 4 to perform a crush cut, also known as a burst cut, on the web 11 to form the or each line 6 of the pattern 5. The crush cutting device acting as the mechanical cutter 70 comprises a profiled roller 71 and an anvil roller 72. The profiled roller 71 and anvil roller 72 are spaced apart from each other to define a gap 73. The gap 73 defines part of the web 11 of tipping paper 4 conveying path. That is, the web 11 passes between the profiled roller 71 and the anvil roller 72.

The profiled roller 71 has a cylindrical outer surface 74. Raised protrusions (not shown) extend from the profiled roller 71. The raised protrusions define the or each line 6 of the pattern 5. The raised protrusions define a rotary die. The anvil roller 72 has a cylindrical outer surface 75. The cylindrical outer surface 75 of the anvil roller 72 is smooth. That is, the cylindrical outer surface 75 of the anvil roller 72 does not have any raised protrusions.

The spacing between the free edge of the raised protrusions (not shown) on the profiled roller 71 and cylindrical outer surface 75 of the anvil roller 72 is between 3 and 5 μm in the present embodiment. The thickness of the web 11 of tipping paper 4 is typically 0.025-0.055 mm. However, it will be understood that the dimensions may vary. Rotation of the profiled roller 71 and anvil roller 72 is synchronised. The rotational speed of the profiled roller 71 and anvil roller 72 corresponds to the throughput speed of the web 11 of tipping paper 4. As the web 11 passes between the profiled roller 71 and anvil roller 72, the rollers 71, 72 act on either side of the web 11. The part of the web 11 received between the raised protrusions on the profiled roller 71 and the cylindrical outer surface 75 of the anvil roller 72 is compressed. That is, the material is crushed therebetween. The material on which the cutting action is performed is crushed by at least 80% of the thickness of the web 11 of tipping paper 4. The crushing action causes the material to burst along the line of material acted on by the profiled roller 71, and so forms a line of separation. With this action, it is possible to perform a separation action that does not require piercing of the web 11 of tipping paper 4. In the present embodiment, the or each line 6 has a minimum length to width ration of 60:1.

It has been found that, by performing a cutting action on the web 11 of tipping paper 4 downstream of the curling station 50, it is possible to form patterns 5 on the web 11 of tipping paper 4 that have not previously been possible without damage occurring to the tipping paper 4 in the cigarette making machine 4. For example, in the present embodiment the mechanical cutter 70 is configured to perform a cutting action to form the pattern 5 including lines in a direction along the direction of the web 11 of tipping paper conveying path 4. Furthermore, it is possible to form such a pattern 5 including lines 6 having a dimension of at least 5 mm online the cigarette making machine. It will also be understood that the mechanical cutter 70 can be retrofitted to a cigarette making machine.

Referring to FIG. 3, the web 11 of tipping paper 4 passes from the mechanical cutter 70 to a gluing station 55. This includes a gluing roller 56 that applies to predetermined pattern of glue on to one side of the web 11, transferred by a transfer roller 57 from a tray 58. The web 11 with glue applied then passes over a feed roller 59 to a web severing device 60. The web severing device 60 has a rotary patch cutter that includes a plurality of radially extending blades that cut the web 11 into tipping paper segments to to be applied to successive tobacco and filter rod arrangements as illustrated in FIG. 5. Referring to FIG. 2, the web severing device 600 cuts the web 1 along severing lines 12, 13 to form the individual tipping paper segments 10.

In the above described embodiments, a cutting action is performed at the mechanical cutter 70 to form one or more lines 6 having a dimension of at least 5 mm on the web 11 of tipping paper 4 and, optionally, prior to rolls 22 a, 22 b of the web 11 of tipping paper 4 being received by the cigarette making machine to form perforations 7. However, it will be understood that in another embodiment the cigarette making machine has a pre-cutter to perform a cutting action on the web 11 of tipping paper 4 to form perforations 7. One such embodiment is shown in FIG. 6. The embodiment shown in FIG. 6 is generally the same as the embodiments described above and so a detailed description will be omitted. However, in this embodiment the cigarette making machine has a pre-cutter 80 disposed along the web 11 of tipping paper 4 conveying path.

In this embodiment, the pre-cutter 80 is disposed upstream of the curling station 50 along the web 11 of tipping paper 4 conveying path. The pre-cutter 80 is configured to form perforations, or other cutting actions in which the cuts have a dimension less than 5 mm. The pre-cutter 80 may have different forms, including a laser cutting device, a pin embossing device or a shear action cutter.

The pre-cutter 80 is configured to perform a first cutting action on the web 11 of tipping paper 4. The cutting action performed by the mechanical cutter 70 is a second cutting action on said web 11 of tipping paper 4. By providing the pre-cutter 80 upstream of the curling station 50 it is possible to separate a first cutting action from a second cutting action. Such an arrangement allows a robust web 11 having an online cutting action performed on it to pass through the curling station 50, whilst providing for a further cutting action to be performed on the web 11 prior to being combined with the rods 20 a, 20 b, 21.

In a further embodiment, it will be understood that the pre-cutter is disposed downstream of the curling station 50 and upstream of the mechanical cutter 70 along the web 11 of tipping paper 4 conveying path. With such arrangements, it is possible to form the perforations or other cutting action that is not performed by the mechanical cutter 70 online the cigarette making machine.

In order to address various issues and advance the art, the entirety of this disclosure shows by way of illustration various embodiments in which the claimed invention(s) may be practiced and provide for superior smoking article assembly machine and/or method of making a smoking article. The advantages and features of the disclosure are of a representative sample of embodiments only, and are not exhaustive and/or exclusive. They are presented only to assist in understanding and teach the claimed features. It is to be understood that advantages, embodiments, examples, functions, features, structures, and/or other aspects of the disclosure are not to be considered limitations on the disclosure as defined by the claims or limitations on equivalents to the claims, and that other embodiments may be utilised and modifications may be made without departing from the scope and/or spirit of the disclosure. Various embodiments may suitably comprise, consist of, or consist essentially of, various combinations of the disclosed elements, components, features, parts, steps, means, etc. In addition, the disclosure includes other inventions not presently claimed, but which may be claimed in future. 

1. A smoking article assembly machine having a web of tipping paper conveying path, the smoking article assembly machine comprising a mechanical cutter configured to perform a cutting action to form a pattern including a line having a dimension of at least 5 mm on a web of tipping paper passing along the web of tipping paper conveying path, and a web severing device configured to sever the web of tipping paper into segments for wrapping smoking articles.
 2. The smoking article assembly machine according to claim 1, wherein the line is a line of separation.
 3. The smoking article assembly machine according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the cutting action of the mechanical cutter is configured to define at least two sections of the web of tipping paper.
 4. The smoking article assembly machine according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the mechanical cutter is configured to perform a cutting action to form the pattern including a line in a direction along the direction of the web of tipping paper conveying path.
 5. The smoking article assembly machine according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a curling station configured to act on the web of tipping paper, and wherein the mechanical cutter is configured to perform the cutting action downstream of the curling station along the web of tipping paper conveying path.
 6. The smoking article assembly machine according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the mechanical cutter is configured to perform the cutting action upstream of the web severing device along the web of tipping paper conveying path.
 7. The smoking article assembly machine according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the mechanical cutter is a crush cutting device.
 8. The smoking article assembly machine according to claim 7, wherein the crush cutting device comprises a profiled roller and an anvil roller between which the web of tipping paper conveying path is defined.
 9. The smoking article assembly machine according to claim 7, wherein the spacing between the profile roller and anvil roller is in the range of 3 to 5 μm.
 10. The smoking article assembly machine according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a pre-cutter, wherein the pre-cutter is configured to perform a first cutting action on said web of tipping paper and the cutting action performed by the mechanical cutter is a second cutting action on said web of tipping paper.
 11. The smoking article assembly machine according to claim 9, wherein the pre-cutter performs a mechanical cutting action.
 12. The smoking article assembly machine according to claim 10 or claim 11, wherein the pre-cutter is disposed upstream of the curling station along the web of tipping paper conveying path.
 13. The smoking article assembly machine according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the line has a minimum length to width ration of 60:1.
 14. A method of making a smoking article, comprising conveying a web of tipping paper along a conveying path, mechanically cutting the web of tipping paper to form a pattern including a line having a dimension of at least 5 mm on the web of tipping paper, severing the web of tipping paper into segments, and assembling smoking article with the segments of tipping paper.
 15. The method according to claim 14, further comprising curling the web of tipping paper using a curling station, wherein the web of tipping paper is mechanically cut to form a pattern including a line having a dimension of at least 5 mm after the web of cutting paper is curled by the curling station. 